


grumpy old man hates massages, more at 11

by what_a_dork_fish



Series: Cheriks [24]
Category: X-Men (Alternate Timeline Movies)
Genre: Erik Ruminates, Fluff, M/M, Massage, no there is no sex you depraved weirdos
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-02-03
Updated: 2019-02-03
Packaged: 2019-10-21 08:04:29
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 516
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17638967
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/what_a_dork_fish/pseuds/what_a_dork_fish
Summary: Exactly what it sounds like.





	grumpy old man hates massages, more at 11

**Author's Note:**

> This was supposed to be smutty but I gave up on that approach.

Erik still doesn’t know how Charles convinced him of this.

They’re in their forties. They’ve got gray hairs (Erik more than Charles, though Charles is losing his at an extraordinary rate). And they don’t need “spa days”.

Technically this is Jean’s fault. She’s too romantic. She and Scott are always doing schmoopy couples things, and she’s convinced that everyone else in a romantic relationship needs to do schmoopy things too. So she got Charles a gift certificate for a couples’ massage. And Charles was fool enough to accept it.

So now Erik is lying on a table in just his underwear being touched by a _stranger_. The candles smell nice, and the massage is okay, but he can’t get over the fact that this is a _stranger_. At least she’s brisk and not at all cheerful. Charles, on the table beside Erik, is obviously enjoying himself. It’s in the way he’s laying as boneless as a cat, his eyes half-closed, and how he’s giving off sleepy mental ripples.

Charles prods him mentally, but wordlessly; Erik frowns at him, and Charles smirks. And then Charles falls asleep. Essentially leaving Erik alone with two strangers. Erik is horrified—but he’s also shocked to realize his body is more relaxed than usual. What the _fuck_.

“Does he snore?” the massage therapist working on Charles asks Erik, amused.

“No,” Erik grumbles. Charles isn’t perfect, but at least he doesn’t snore, flail, or steal the blankets. Erik raises his finger slightly, shifting the iron in Charles’ nose, and makes it twitch. But Charles does not wake. Asshole.

Luckily, it’s only a few minutes later that the therapists say they’re done. Charles wakes as soon as Erik says his name, and then the therapists send them off. Charles thanks them, Erik mutters something that sounds grateful, and then they leave.

“Wasn’t that nice?” Charles asks cheerfully as Erik drives them to the restaurant (carefully chosen ahead of time so as not to be one where Erik is banned). “Don’t lie, I saw your scowl go away.”

Erik has never pouted. But he comes close. His shoulders still feel much less tense than they usually do during the day, so he doesn’t think he can argue with Charles effectively. “It was okay,” he allows stiffly.

Charles smiles wider, and Erik wonders helplessly if anything will be as beautiful as Charles smiling.

~

That night, Charles is still boneless and easy, flopping against Erik’s chest when they get into bed and sighing, heavy but happy. “I like massages,” he mumbles, pressing his nose against Erik’s neck.

“Mm.” Erik runs his fingers through Charles’ hair. Then, half joking, he asks, “Would you like me to learn some so you don’t have to pay?”

“Darling, that would be _wonderful_!”

~

Erik will say this: _receiving_ a massage is uncomfortable, but _giving_ one, especially to Charles, is pretty nice. He gets to touch Charles more that way. And yeah, so a lot of the time those massages devolve into making love, because Charles all naked and supple and happy is damn sexy. But not always. And that’s good too.

**Author's Note:**

> Comments = Life, Love, and Happiness


End file.
